Men's Golf

This Week in ACC Men’s Golf

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf season opened up last week with California and Duke participating in the Southwestern Invitational, hosted by Pepperdine, from January 27-28. The spring season continues this week beginning Thursday, February 6, with the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, as Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Stanford will compete in the 20-team field.

Last week was headlined by SMU’s team title at the Vaqueros Intercollegiate at the Playa Paraiso Golf Course in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. In addition, Will Sides finished as the tournament runner-up with a 4-under 212. As a team, the Mustangs won the Intercollegiate by 15 strokes, headlined by a second-round 5-under.

Also topping the leaderboard last week was NC State at the Battle at Briar’s Creek in John’s Island, South Carolina. The Wolfpack, who claimed their second team title of the 2024-25 season, finished 19-under (845) and were led by Michael Vick who earned co-medalist honors with Clemson’s Kian Rose and Elon’s Garrett Risner at 7-under (209).

Four tournaments are upcoming beginning with the Amer Ari Invitational, as North Carolina looks to repeat as tournament champions. The Tar Heels shot 796 (-68) for the three-day event, as they broke 800 for the first time in program history in last year’s event.

Also in action are Boston College and Virginia Tech at the Palmas del Mar Collegiate on February 9-11, Virginia at the Puerto Rico Classic on February 10-12 and California heads to the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on February 13-14.

Recent Results
January 27-28 – Southwestern Invitational (14 teams) | Results
Duke – 8th (864, +12)
California – 9th (867, +15)
Top Finisher: Ziqin Zhou, California (T-13, -2)

February 2-4 - Vaqueros Intercollegiate (15 teams) | Results
SMU – 1st (864, E)
Top-10 Finishers: Will Sides, SMU (T-2, -4), Enrique Dimayuga, SMU (T-7, +1), Zachary Kingsland (T-7, +1)

February 3-4 – Battle at Briar’s Creek (14 teams) | Results
NC State – 1st (845, -19)
Wake Forest – T-4th (854, -10)
Clemson – T-4th (854, -10)
Top-10 Finishers: Kian Rose, Clemson T-1st (209, -7), Michael Vick, NC State T-1st (209, -7), Rich Wills, Clemson (210, -6), Marshall Meisel, Wake Forest T-4th (210, -6), Nick Mathews, NC State T-6th (211, -5), Xander Goboy, NC State T-10th (212, -4)

Upcoming Schedule
February 6-8: Amer Ari Invitational – Waimea, Hawaii | Live Scoring
Georgia Tech, North Carolina & Stanford

February 9-11: Palmas del Mar Collegiate - Humacao, Puerto Rico | Live Scoring
Boston College & Virginia Tech

February 10-12: Puerto Rico Classic – Rio Grande, Puerto Rico | Live Scoring
Virginia

Feb 13-14: John A. Burns Intercollegiate – Lihue Hawaii | Live Scoring
California

ACC Notes
  • In the first spring Scoreboard team rankings, four ACC teams are in the top 25. The ranking included North Carolina (No. 6), Virginia (No. 8), Georgia Tech (No. 12) and SMU (No. 15). Notre Dame (No. 26) and Duke (No. 29) are just outside the top 25.
     
  • Four ACC players are in the top 25 of the first spring Scoreboard individual rankings, headlined by North Carolina’s David Ford earning the top spot. Following Ford is Virginia’s Ben James at No. 5, Louisville’s Sebastian Moss at No. 8 and Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski at No. 17. Georgia Tech’s Benjamin Reuter is just outside the top 25 at No. 27.
     
  • Six ACC teams were in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll, announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Friday, November 1. The ranking includes Virginia at No. 7, North Carolina at No. 8, Georgia Tech at No. 12, SMU at No. 17, Duke at No. 21 and Notre Dame at No. 25. Florida State and Stanford are receiving votes.
     
  • For the week of February 3, North Carolina’s David Ford remained at No. 1 in the latest PGA TOUR U rankings. A total of eight players are in the latest Top 25 rankings: No. 1 David Ford (North Carolina), No. 10 Sebastian Moss (Louisville), No. 11 Enrique Dimayuga (SMU), No. 17 Maxwell Ford (North Carolina), No. 19 Gray Albright (Florida State), No. 20 Nick Mathews (NC State), No. 21 Deven Patel (Virginia) and No. 22 Scotty Kennon (Wake Forest).
     
  • Seven ACC standouts were named to the 2025 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, which awards the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months. The list included Luke Clanton (Florida State), David Ford (North Carolina), Ben James (Virginia), Bryan Lee (Virginia), Jacob Modleski (Notre Dame), Sebastian Moss (Louisville) and Hiroshi Tai (Georgia Tech).
     
  • During the fall season, ACC teams captured 10 team titles, while 11 ACC players claimed medalist honors. Notre Dame was the lone school to earn two team titles this fall, as the Fighting Irish claimed the Canadian Collegiate Invitational and the Fighting Irish Classic. Individually, North Carolina’s David Ford and Louisville’s Sebastian Moss took home two titles apiece.
     
  • Luke Clanton (Florida State), David Ford (North Carolina), Ben James (Virginia), Jacob Modleski (Notre Dame) and Sebastian Moss (Louisville) were named to the final fall Watch List for the Fred Haskins Award.
     
  • For the first time since 2006, North Carolina captured the 2024 ACC Men’s Golf Championship with a 3-1 victory over Florida State in the match-play final at Charlotte Country Club.
     
  • After playing five playoff holes, Wake Forest senior Michael Brennan and Florida State senior Frederik Kjettrup were declared co-medalists at the 2024 ACC Men’s Golf Championship at Charlotte Country Club. Brennan and Kjettrup both finished the three rounds of stroke play at 7-under.
     
  • Nine ACC teams earned bids to the NCAA Regionals, with seven – Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia and Wake Forest – advancing to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California. The seven teams matched a conference record, and it marked the 17th time in the last 18 years of NCAA competition that at least eight ACC teams earned a regional bid.
     
  • Following stroke play of the NCAA Championship, Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai became the first ACC player since the 2021 season to claim the individual title. In addition, ACC teams formed half the field for the eight-team match play quarterfinal at the NCAA Championship, with Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia all advancing. The Seminoles eventually advanced to the national-championship round, but fell 3-2 to Auburn.